Mortgage approvals rise sharply

The number of mortgage approvals in the UK rose sharply to the highest level in November since March 2008 as the Bank of England (BoE) said consumer confidence grew indicating that the economy could have emerged from recession.

According to the monetary data released by the BoE, mortgage loans jumped in November pushing borrowings by UK households during the month. More significantly, the number of mortgage approvals also jumped with net lending to household reaching £1.083 billion in November, up from just £508 million in October and the largest amount since April 2009.

At the same time, the domestic manufacturing sector also showed signs of life during the final quarter of last year and expanded at its fastest pace in December since 2007.

Money holdings of nonfinancial companies rose 4.8% from a year earlier — the strongest rate of increase since February 2008.

Meanwhile, Persimmon Plc, the third-larges homebuilder in the UK by volume said that house prices continue to rise.

Because of the rise in house prices, Persimmon said it sold 12 percent less houses in 2009 as demands also fell.

Data released by the company showed that it sold only 8,976 homes last year which earned them £1.4 billion.

The company said in a statement, “We will remain cautious until mortgage availability and the general economy improve. We will await the spring selling season with keen interest.”